Bet UFC

For those interested in UFC betting, but new to the sport, we have some excellent tips and information to hook you up with everything you need to know to start making serious cash on your favorite fights.

For the completely un-initiated betting fans, the UFC is a brand that showcases the sport of mixed martial arts. Think of mixed martial arts (MMA) as football, and the UFC like the NFL. Because the sport is so young (not even 20 years old, yet), not all of the top talent in MMA fights in the UFC. However, because of the explosion in popularity over the past five years in the United States, the UFC has the highest concentration of top-level talent, and indeed, is truly the premiere league in the sport.

So how do fights end? Fights can end in any of the following ways:

Via knockout: Emphatic. One combatant knocks out another combatant with a strike or combination of strikes. These can come via punches, kicks, or elbows. Knockouts are incredibly exciting for fans and fighters who win in this method are often recipients of bonuses. Fights can also end via technical knockout or TKO, in which the referee or doctor stops the fight because one fighter is not defending himself adequately from attack.

Via submission: One fighter submits - either by tapping or verbally - causing an end to the fight. This usually comes as a result of the fighter being caught in a submission hold, which can be anything from a jointlock like an armbar or a kneebar, or a choke.

Via decision: If no knockout, TKO or submission comes before regulation time ends, the bout will be decided by a panel of three judges, who award a winner based on criteria including effective striking, grappling, aggression, and cage control.

After much of the sound and fury had died down around the knockout of Chuck Liddell in the main event of UFC 115, many fans of sports betting were left asking the question, "so what?"

What does a win over Chuck Liddell mean at this point for Rich Franklin? Liddell is obviously done at this point, and prior to the knockout he was pressuring Franklin and had him backing up. Indeed, he looked to have hurt Franklin when he rushed in and got his lights shut out.

A win over a fighter in the dying stages of their career is tough to assign value to. It looks as though a strong wind could knockout the Iceman at this point, however, Franklin has only seen his stock rise with this win.

Despite the fact that he beat a man who is a shell of his former self, Franklin's win is credible. Rich showed to a lot of new fans that he does have knockout power, and while he may not win every fight against top competition, he will always put on a game performance.

Rich took a lot of heat from fans of UFC betting following his loss to Dan Henderson and win over Wanderlei Silva. Inexorably, many fans thought he barely squeaked out a decision against Silva, and he looked flat at times against Hendo. Add the knockout loss to Belfort in there, and Franklin's star has lost a little shine.

This win however, will give him the confidence to get back in there and rack up wins against quality competition. While Rich may not be champ, he can still hang with upper echelon of fighters at middleweight, and it would be intriguing to see if that were true for light heavyweight as well.

Fans of UFC betting know that Chuck Liddell was the odds-on-favorite to win his fight against Tito Ortiz. The two had fought twice before, with essentially the same outcome each time. When the third fight between them was announced, fans of the Iceman thought, "if nothing else, it will be nice to see him get another win".

That sentiment has fallen by the wayside, as Liddell will now face off with Rich Franklin, who stepped in to replace the injured Ortiz. In terms of betting lines, the favorite becomes the underdog.

Liddell is listed as a slight underdog in this match according to most oddsmakers. Stylistically it's a terrible fight for him. He's fighting a very experienced opponent in Rich Franklin, but one who isn't nearly as shopworn as he is.

Moreover, Franklin has shown a real ability to strategize in fights, something that Liddell isn't always known for. Franklin, a marginal favorite hovering around the +150 mark, should be able to take this one. Despite coming off a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort, Franklin isn't known for having a glass chin. Indeed, his brutal stoppages at the hands of Anderson Silva left him broken and beaten, but never unconscious - not even close.

Short of Liddell landing that big overhand right, he's not a good bet in this match up. Still, for ardent Chuck supporters, the hope that he will return to former glory is very real, and he could still certainly have some good fights in the UFC. A proper retirement tour however would pit him against opponents like Ortiz and Couture. Hanging with the top of the division at this point is just not in the cards.